Centrifugal separator



May 19, 1931. P DUPUIS 1,306,241

cENTRIFUGAL sEPARAToR Filed March 6. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IELI May 19,1931. F. DUPUIS CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Filed Harsh 6, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet2 fn/@dau @am 990W.

Etam@ Patented May 19, 1931 UNTED STATES FERNAND DUPUIS, OF CHARLEROI,BELGIUM CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR Application filed March G, 1930, SerialNo. 433,740, and in Belgium March 9, 1929.

The present invention relates to centrifugal separators used forseparating solids and liquids and more particularly the solid matterheld in suspension in a liquid.

The object of the invention is to obtain in apparatus of this kind acontinuous discharge of the clarified liquid and of the solid inatterthrough the top of the apparatus, and to avoid all escape of liquidthrough the discharge port for the solid matter when there is no solidmatter in suspension in the liquid.

F or this purpose, apparatus according to the invention comprises arotary vessel closed at the bottom, into which the liquid charged withsolid matter is centrally introduced at the bottom by means of a tubularelement, this vessel being provided at its upper part with a lid orcover, in which separate discharge conduits for the clarified liquid andfor the separated solid matter are formed, the conduits for the solidmatter being normally closed and openable under the influence of thethrust of the solid matter forced upwards by a worm which is caused torotate within the vessel.

According to the invention, the discharge of the separatedsolid mattermay be made through a lateral chamber disposed at a very short distancefrom the upper end of the vessel. in order to reduce the contents ofwater of the separated solid matter forced by centrifugal force intosaid lateral chamber, this matter is compressed by a rod penetratinginto said chamber and actuated to rotate.

The matter separated by centrifugal force which might have gone beyondthe discharge chamber is brought back towards the latter by directingthe upper part of the worm arranged within the vessel in the oppositedirection with regards to the lower part of said worm.

The matter separated by centrifugal force, discharged through a door orother closing means, is brought into a discharge apparatus and isscraped from the walls of the latter by means of vanes or paddlesadapted to scrape a portion of the frame of increased thickness, thelength of said vanos being limited to the length of said portion ofincreased thickness for the purpose; the separated matter then fallsfreely into a tank, which may deliver it through suitable dischargeorifices.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, it will bedescribed hereafter with reference to the figures of the accompanyingdrawings, which are given merely by way of example.

Fig. l is a sectional elevation view of the apparatus through thecentral shaft thereof;

F ig. 2 is a sectional detail view, on a larger scale, of anotherclosing device for the discharge ports for the solid matter;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a part of the apparatus accordingto a different form of construction.

Referring to the drawings, l designates a stationary vertical tubefitted in a sleeve 2 supported, through the medium of a ball bearing 4,on a supporting element 3 forming part of the fixed portion of theapparatus on the lower portion of this tube l.

This sleeve 2 is provided with radial arms or rods 6 supporting uprights7 to which a worm 5 is attached.

The lower end of the tube l issues into the bottom of a vessel or tank8, concentric with the tube and the inner wall of which completelysurrounds the worm 5. This vessel 8 is provided with a closed bottom 9,which is supported on a shaft l0, which is in turn carried by the lowerframe ll of the apparatus, through the medium of ball bearings 12.Outside the vessel 8, a worm 13 is secured, which revolves within astationary casing 14 forming part of the frame 1l and. which is providedat the bottom with discharge apertures 15.

The upper part of the vessel 8 is provided with a lid or cover 16. Thelatter forms an outer guide sleeve 17, concentric with the sleeve 2 andwhich is maintained in this concentric position by means of ballbearings 18 and 19. The ball bearing 18 is supported on a seat 20forming part of the stationary housing of the apparatus, whereas theball bearing 19 maintains the two rotary sleeves 2 and 17 in concentricposition.

In the cover 16 are formed ports 21, issuing into the periphery of thevessel 8 and which serve the purpose of discharging the solid matter,these ports being normally closed by means of lids 22 adapted to pivotabout spindles 23, or by means of slides or doors 22 (Fig. 2) acted uponby the pressure of an adjustable screw or by any other appropriatemeans, so as to compress more or less the separated solid matter, andtherefore, to reduce more or less its contents in liquid.

Other ports 24, located nearer to the tube 1, issue into conduits 25,which open into a collecting channel 26, with sloping bottom, locatedoutside and completely surrounding the stationary casing 14. Thiscollecting channel with sloping bottom has at its lowermost part anoutlet port 27.

The various movable parts of the apparatus are rotated by means of abelt, which is passed round a pulley 28 keyed on a shaft 29 supported onball bearings 30. At one end of this shaft 29, two bevel gears 31 impartto the sleeve 2-and consequently to the worm 5, a rotary movement. Aball bearing 32 positioned beneath the bevel gear keyed on the sleeve 2prevents any lateral movement from taking place under the inuence of thebevel gear mounted on the shaft 29.

At the other end of the shaft 29, a pair of bevel gears 33 im arts,through the medium of a vertical sha t 34, a pair of bevel gears 35, ahorizontal shaft 36 and a pair of bevel gears 37, a rotary movement tothe vessel or tank 8. The transmission shafts 34 and 36 are supported onball bearings 38 and in order to prevent the shaft 10 of the rotary tank8 from moving laterally under the influence of the bevel gear 37 a ballbearing 39 is supported on a vertical base 40 secured to the lower`frame of the apparatus.

The working of the centrifugal separator is as follows:

The mixture is supplied through the vertical tube 1 by any appropriateknown means. At the lower end of the tube 1, the mixture falls on thebottom of the rotary vessel 8, which is caused to revolve by the meanshereabove described. Under the action of the centrifugal force, thesolid particles held in suspension in the liquid, which are of' higherspecific gravity than the latter, are projected against the wall of thetank 8.

The worm 5, which is actuated to revolve at a slightly different speedfrom the vessel 8, slowly lifts the solid particles projected againstthe wall of the vessel by centrifugal force.

On arriving near the lid 16 of the rotary vessel 8, the solid particlesare forced by the workL5 into the discharge ports 21, which are normallyclosed by the lids 22. Under the action of this pressure, the lids orcovers 22 open and give way to the solid matter, which is then projectedagainst the inner wall of the stationary casing 14. In a similar way,the pressure which the separated solid matter has to overcome, may beobtained, for instance, by a spring of regulable tension (Fig. 2), or bythe weight of an inclined slide or door, so as to obtain a producthaving a more or less great content of liquid by reason of a more orless great compression. The worm 13 secured to the rotary vessel 8 leadsthe separated solid matter towards the bottom of the casing 14, where itmay be discharged through apertures 15.

The liquid separated from the mixture iiows, under `the action of thestatic pressure due to the difference in level between the inletaperture for the mixture and the outlet orifice for the clarifiedliquid, which is discharged through the ports24 and the conduits 25,into the circular channel 26, from where it is delivered through theport 27 for further use.

The centrifugal separator constructed according to the invention has theadvantage of entering into action only when solid matter is contained inthe apparatus. Indeed, the covers 22, normally applied on their seatsunder the iniiuence of the centrifugal force, can only open under theaction of a pressure exerted on them and this pressure can only beexerted thereon when solid matter is present in the ports 21. When thereis only liquid matter inside the rotary vessel 8, the worm 5 rotates inthis liquid which escapes through the passages 24 and 25 withoutexerting any pressure on t-he covers 22. The advantage resultingherefrom resides mainly in the absolutely perfect separation of thesolid matter from the liquid in which it is held in suspension. Thesolid matter which is discharged through the ports 21 is not diluted andit is only slightly wet due to its stay in the liquid.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 can be seen, atl a slightdistance from the upper end of the vessel 8, a lateral chamber 41, intowhich the separated high gravity matter is forced under the action ofthe centrifugal force. In order to bring back to said lateral chamber 41any matter separated by centrifugal force which might have gone beyondsaid chamber, the upper part 52 of the worm 5 is directed in oppositedirection to t-he lower part 53 of said worm 5.

Into the lateral chamber 41 penetrates an `arm or rod 45, connected in aconvenient way to the upright 7, this rod serving the purpose tocompress the solid matter contained in the chamber 41 and thereby toreduce its contents in water.

The lateral chamber 4l is normally closed by covers 22 or by slides ordoors, in the same way as has been described hereabove, the opening ofthis closing means being only possible under the action of the pressureexerted thereon by the solid matter enclosed in the chamber 4l.

The solid matter having passed the closures 22 penetrates into acompartment 49 and in this compartment it is detached from the wallsthereof by vanes or paddles 46, which are rigidly connected with therotary vessel 8, the length of these Vanes or paddles 46 being limitedto that of the portion 48 of increased thickness of the frame of theapparatus.

When the separated solid matter has gone beyond the lower end of saidportion 48, it falls freely into the lower part of the compartment 49,from where it is discharged through the apertures l5.

The centrifugal separator according to the invention has thus theadvantage of ensuring a better separation, a better drying of theseparated matter and of allowing the discharge of this matter withouthaving to use intricate mechanical means.

I claim:

1. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising` a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a tubular feed elementcentrally located in said vessel and extending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said vessel, a cover for the top of saidvessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid outwardly inclined,conduits 1n the top part of the covered vessel and arranged outside saidports for the separated solid matter and valves normally closing saidconduits, said valves being arranged and guided so as to be deprivedfrom centrifugal action and openable under the influence of the thrustof the said solid mattei' forced upwards by said worm into saidconduits.

2. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a tubular fee-d elementcentrally located in said vessel and extending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said vessel, a cover for the top of saidvessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid outwardly inclined,conduits in the top part of the covered vessel and arranged outside saidports for the separated solid matter, slides positively guided on eitherside for normally closing said conduits and adjustable spring meansacting on said slides so as to compress more or less the solid matterforced upwards by said worm into said conduits against the slide andthereby reduce more or less the state of humidity of said solid matter.

3. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a driving shaftconnected to said bottom for rotating the vessel, a tubular feed elementcentrally located in said vessel and extending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said vessel, a cover for the top of saidvessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid, outwardly inclinedconduits in the top part of the covered vessel and arranged outside saidports for the separated solid matter, valves normally closing saidconduits arranged and guided to avoid centrifugal action, an outerstationary tank within which said vessel rotates and a worm outwardlyrigidly connected to said vessel so as to rotate within said tank and tobring the solid matter discharged through said conduits to the bottom ofsaid tank.

4. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a tubular feed elementcentrally located in said vessel and extending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said vessel, a cover for the top of saidvessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid, discharge passagesfor the separated solid matter laterally formed in the wall of thevessel at a slight distance from the top, and having a horizontaloutlet, flap valves normally closing said horizontal out-` lets andopenable under the influence of the pressure of said solid matter andmeans rotating with the worm to compress said solid matter in saidpassages.

5. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a tubular feed elementcentrally located in said vessel and extending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said vessel, the upper part of which isdirected in opposite direction to the lower part, a cover for the top ofsaid vessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid, dischargepassages for the separated solid matter laterally formed in the wall ofthe vessel at a slight distance from the top, and having a horizontaloutlet, flap valves normally closing said outlets and openable under theinfluence of the pressure of said solid matter and means rotating withthe worm to compress said solid matter in said passages.

6. A centrifugal separator for separating solids from liquids,comprising a rotary vessel closed at the bottom, a tubular feed elementcentrally located in said vessel and ex tending to near the bottomthereof, a rotary worm in said Vessel, the upper part of which isdirected in opposite direction to the lower part, a cover for the top ofsaid vessel, ports in said cover for the clarified liquid, an annulardischarge passage for the separated solid matter laterally formed in thewall of the vessel at a slight distance from the top,

and having a horizontal outlet, Hap valves normally closing said outletand openable under the iniuence of the pressure of said solid matter,radial rods rotating with the 5 Worm to compress said solid matter 1nsaid passage and engaging said annular discharge passage, an outerstationary tank into which said passage issues, having an upper portionof smaller Width, and means rotat- ,0 ing With the vessel for scrapingthe Wall of said narrower portion and causing the solid matter to dropon the bottom of the tank. I'n testimonyvwhereof Isigned hereunto myname.

1f,i -V 1 l FERNAND DUPUIS.

